Lawson Snyder, 1980 Fisheries Biology, was recently awarded the Louise Ireland Humphrey Achievement Award for outstanding career achievement by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Snyder spent 34 years with the FWC, having recently retired as Deputy Division Director of Habitat and Species Conservation.

Timothy E. Blewett, 1966 Fisheries Biology, recently published nine novels on Amazon.com in a series is titled "A California Saga". The first five novels take place in northern and central California and two of the main characters are professors at Humboldt.

Benjamin J. Wocken, 2007 Politics, is currently serving as a Broadcast Journalist with the American Forces Network Europe Headquarters at Sembach, Germany, with the U.S. Air Force. His duties include traveling throughout the European military theater, writing, filming, editing, and producing military news and Command Information media pieces for the American Forces Network television and internet audiences. Wocken was recently named to the Dean's List during his studies in the Master of Public Affairs program, through the Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Rick M. Gardner, 1965 Psychology, received his M.A. (1967) and Ph.D. (1969) from University of Nevada, Reno in experimental psychology. He served as Professor and Department Chair at the University of Southern Colorado from 1969 to 1991, and later as Professor and Department Chair at the University of Colorado, Denver, from 1991 to 2000. Gardner has published extensively in several areas of psychology with particular emphasis on the topic of body image. He retired in 2003 and has travelled extensively in 90 countries.

Gema Ortiz Lombardo, 2009 Spanish, earned her Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Bilingual Education from New Mexico State University in 2011. While pursuing her M.A., Lombardo worked with NMSU as a School Garden Curriculum Coordinator. Lombardo also served as a managing editor for the resource book, “Implementing a school and Community Garden.” In 2013, She provided college and career guidance to special-needs students at high school level. She is happily married and is currently an Admissions Counselor for Humboldt State and a recruiter for HSU’s College of Natural Resources & Sciences, focusing on promoting opportunities for hispanic students.

Carol Taylor, 1993 Business & Teaching Credential, is currently Vice President of the Sonoma Valley Democrats, Vice Chair in the Senior Caucus of the California Democratic Party, a member of the Sonoma County Public Authority Advisory Board, and a former Ethics Officer for the Homecare Division of the Service Employees International Union for United Health Care Workers. Taylor was able to use her experience in accounting to help bargaining teams in Sonoma and Marin counties raise the wages of thousands of in-home support service providers.

Steven Olsen-Smith, 1990 English, recently published "Melville in His Own Time: A Biographical Chronicle of His Life, Drawn from Recollections, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates" The book is available from the University of Iowa Press.

Mary Wicksten, 1972 Biological Sciences, is a Professor of Biology at Texas A&M University, College Station, and just published her book "Vertical Reefs: Life on Oil and Gas Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.” Published by Texas A&M University Press, it is the only non-technical book on the subject. The illustrated book discusses the biota of these structures, its origins, and what happens to these organisms over the lifespan of a platform. A copy is on its way to the Humboldt Library.

Tamara Iraheta, 2015 Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies, currently works as an Americorp member in the Louisiana Delta Service Corps based in New Orleans. Iraheta is a Community Engagement Coordinator at a non-profit organization call STAR (Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response). Ihareta’s position focuses on social change on issues that surround sexualized violence.

James Ronald Good, 1966 Wildlife, spent the summer of 1964 and as range aide and range tech with the Bureau of Land Management on the Sheldon Refuge and Range in northwest Nevada. He spent summer of ‘65 conducting project inventories in southern Nevada. Good was later hired by BLM in 1966 as a range conservationist in Lewistown, Mont. He then transferred to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services in 1967 as assistant refuge manager at the Kern-Pixley Refuges in California. From there, Good transferred to the Stillwater Wildlife Management Area in Fallon, Nev., and the Hart Mountain Refuge in Oregon before going on leave to attend Oregon State University, where he earned a Master’s of Science in Wildland Sciences with a minor in Rangeland Restoration. Afterward, Good worked at the Columbia Refuge in Washington, then in the Pierre Area Office in South Dakota, as the staff refuge manager and biologist. In ‘82, Good was selected as refuge manager at the Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge in Utah. In '84, Good became the project leader for the Havasu Refuge, in Needles, Calif., before transferring to Galena, Alaska. After 33 years as a law enforcement officer, Good retired in 2000.